Starring Role
by whoruntheworld-cats
Summary: My first fanfiction. After being reaped Peeta is taken to the Hunger Games. Along the way he has confusing feelings for the boy with the piercing blue eyes from District 2. Rated M for violence and eventual sexy times. Peeta/Cato
1. Lets Get These Teen Hearts Beating

Chapter 1: Tonight I Feel Like Neon Gold

"Peeta! You useless little shit! Get out of bed before I fucking make you!" screamed my mother whilst knocking loudly on the door.

"Yes mother." I said trying to hide my annoyance with that abusive bitch of a mother. She wasn't one to hit me that often, more commonly saying cruel things just to make me cry. I knew she was doing it just to be terrible, but it still hurt. What did I do to deserve this. I had the worst family that a normal teenage boy could have. my dad was a weak fellow who bended to the will of my damn mother. Then there were my two brothers Canic and Ranic, the twins were older than me by 5 years. They were worse than my mother sometimes. As a child whenever they would do something wrong they would blame me, this would get me yelled at by my mother or beaten if the twins did something especially terrible. They weren't even the worst part of my life, it was living in District 12.

Damned were my ancestors, they moved to a state formerly known as North Carolina not too long before the Dark Days. Then the districts were created, District 13 being the poorest and the Capitol citizens having infinite wealth. Then District 13 was destroyed during the rebellion leaving District 12 the poorest. They exported coal, that terrible rock, coal dust everywhere, it was a constant presence within the District. Even within the schools.

I rose out of bed, looking for my boxers, I stopped in front of the mirror admiring my naked body, I wasn't ripped but I had some muscle definition, I ran a finger along my treasure trail. Then I reached the dark blonde patch of hair above my manhood. I was proud of the organ sticking straight up, a good 8 inches long and rather thick. I rubbed my manhood a few times before putting on clothes and heading down to the kitchen for breakfast. I knew what was awaiting me, an especially nice breakfast, maybe even a cup of orange juice. I was happy about the breakfast, but not the occasion. Because today was the day of the reaping. I wasn't nervous though.

I went down to the table to see my family sitting there looking grim. I would never understand why. My name was only in the bowl 4 times. It's not like I ever had to take tesserae for the extra grain and oil. We were well off as due to the fact that we were bakers. We always had enough food to eat and winter wasn't a problem due to the heat that came from the ovens. I would venture to say we were probably one of the richest families in District 12. I looked around the table at my family, they glanced at me nervously.

"Is there something going on?" I inquired. No one replied. I was annoyed with my family acting like this every reaping. The odds of me being picked were very slim. My family slowly started to pick at their food. I ate some cooked squirrel on the hearty bread with nuts inside of it. This was my favorite kind of bread, nice and dense, you didn't need to eat much to have a full meal. I wondered where the squirrel came from, and then realized it must have been from her. Katniss Everdeen, the girl I had had a crush on ever since the day when I gave her the burnt bread. I loved everything about her. Her mocha hair in a braid that hung over her right shoulder. Her piercing grey eyes. Her soft looking lips, and her curvaceous body. The body that commonly was the subject of my attention when I pleasured myself. I doubted she even knew of my existence.

"Know what, Peeta I hope you don't get reaped, because you would be easier to kill than a 12 year old." my mother said matter-of-factly.

"Fuck you mom." I threw the rest of my food away and stormed to my room to finish getting ready. I could not believe that she didn't even believe I had a chance. I mean, I wouldn't but what kind of mother tells her son he has no chance. The Hunger Games wasn't a joking matter in my mind. No matter how slim the chances were of me being a tribute, it's not like I still wasn't slightly afraid.

Once breakfast was finished I went up to my room and prepared myself for the reaping. I gelled my ash blonde hair back, brushed my teeth and washed my face. It was time to head down to the square in front of the Justice Building where the mayor lived with his wife and daughter Madge. There were more peacekeepers than the usual 5 from District 12. Probably to protect Effie Trinket, the District 12 escort, and annoying Capitol citizen. I wondered what strange fashion she would have this year. Last year she had pitch black hair with little twinkling lights and a striped black and white dress. I never understood Capitol fashion, it was completely horrid. I stepped into the square more towards the front of the boy's side since I am older. Some of these boys probably had their names in the bowl up to 50 times. So the odds were in my favor. After about 30 minutes of standing around making small talk with the boys around me, the reaping began.

Effie Trinket walked on stage with bright pink hair that looked like a Victorian powdered wig with a bright pink dress. She didn't look absolutely terrible this year. She began the opening speech that I was hearing for the 4th time in my life, a speech talking about how kind the Capitol was to create the Hunger Games instead of destroying all of the districts like they could have. Then we watched the reaping of the other districts. From District 1 came a beautiful brunette with long wavy hair, Glimmer, and then the boy was a somewhat skinny guy who gave off waves of arrogance, Marvel. I would never understand why the names were so strange in District 1. They didn't even have last names because of the fact they had such unique names. Then went to District 2, a small girl maybe 13 or 14 was picked she strutted up onto the stage and stood there proudly I didn't hear her name. Then they called out the boy's name but there wasn't time to finish before someone screamed out to volunteer. The cameras cut to a muscular blond boy who eagerly went on stage. I couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. Attractive? I thought to myself I have never found another guy attractive...maybe it's those big arms or those huge pecs. What the fuck am I thinking? I shook my head dismissing the thoughts. I wasn't a faggot, no one in District 12 was. Well there are a few, but they are social outcasts and normally the target of hate crimes. It wasn't fair but that was the way life was here.

The reaping continued, none of the other tributes really caught my eyes. Except for the girl from District 5 with flaming red hair and a fox-like face. And then the little girl from 11 a small dark-skinned girl named Rue. She barely looked 10. It was always sad when 12 year olds were in the game. They rarely survived or won, except for 4 years ago. The little boy hid and was able to hunt for himself until there was only one Career left, and then the little boy shot the final tribute with a poison dart from a distance. That Career was his only kill.

Then it was time for the District 12 reaping. Effie Trinket daintily stepped over towards the girl's bowl. Her hand hovers over the slips of paper before diving into the bowl. She pulls out a slip and holds it up as she walks to the microphone. She slowly opens the slip.

"Primrose Everdeen." Effie announces.

The crown murmurs in disappointment. There has only ever been two victors from District 12. The only surviving one was an alcoholic named Haymitch. It was quite obvious that he wasn't a huge help. Even after training and Haymitch's advice District 12 tributes usually died in the bloodbath or very soon after. Primrose stood no chance. How will she die, I thought to myself, will she get impaled by a spear, die of starvation or dehydration, or get killed by a trap put in the Arena by Gamemakers? I knew it was a morbid thought but she was so small. So small; so innocent. Poor Katniss, she was going to lose the most important person in her life. I watched as Prim slowly walked up to the stage until I heard a cry.

"No! Prim no," I turned to see Katniss racing towards her little sister, "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

Gasps rose from the crowd. Volunteers were a rare thing in District 12 why would someone choose to go to their own death? In District 1 and 2 it was an honor and there were commonly volunteers. I looked at her with tears brimming. I was going to lose her. She was as good as dead. I knew she was good with weapons but still her chances of beating people like the Careers were slim. I listened as Effie fretted over the fact that there wasn't proper volunteering procedure. No one cared. Now it was onto the male tribute. She read the slip. I must of misheard her.

"Peeta Mellark? Where are you" Effie questioned.

I slowly walked towards the stage. I knew no one would volunteer for me. I knew I would die there. Tears ran down my eyes as he got on the stage. I looked over at Katniss, nothing. It's like she was in a different world. Probably realizing how grave the decision she just made was. She never looked at me, just stared off into space. She showed no emotion at all. She was strong, or maybe she didn't want to let the Capitol see her cry. I didn't care. I let the tears flow freely as I realized that in a few short weeks...I would be dead. It was a depressing thought. I knew what came next. We got to meet our families in the departure rooms, probably for the last time knowing the luck of District 12.

We were whisked off into the Justice Building and were put in separate rooms. We had an hour to talk to our family before we left for the Capitol. I sat down on the couch waiting for my first visit. The first people to visit me were Canic and Ranic. Their eyes were red, I had never seen evidence of my brothers crying. They apologized, and said they were sorry. It seemed pointless, it's not like they could have volunteered for me. They only cared because I was going to die. I would have done the same thing. Canic took off his necklace. He grabbed my hand and dropped the necklace. I watched as the chain pooled in my hand.

"Why are you giving me this?" I inquired as I looked at the necklace, a shiny black rock as the centerpiece. Obsidian, I think that is what it was called. It was on a gold chain. Canic was too emotional to reply.

"Because you get a token, something from your district to bring to the games." Ranic explained.

"Um, thank you I guess..." I replied slightly confused. The twins looked at each other.

"Promise us you will try and win." they said at the same time.

"I'll try." I whispered, trying to sound confident but failing. I watched as they exited the room, glancing back at me for what would probably be the last time.

Then came my mom. She gave me a hug, not really looking that emotional.

"District 12 may have a winner this year, she is a winner that one." She looked at me and then walked out of the room. No condolences from my mother, I wasn't really surprised. She was truly a terrible woman. I waited for another couple minutes for my father. Was he not coming to see me? Even my goddamn mother came to visit me. She didn't even like me. My father was the one who, I assumed, cared the most didn't even come to see me.

"Your visiting time is over, time to board the train." A big looking Peacekeeper grabbed my arm and started to carry out of the room.

"Wait!" I screamed. " I haven't seen my dad yet."

"And I should care why?" he looked at me quizzically. It was obvious he wasn't a District 12 Peacekeeper. First off, he was far too large. Secondly, Darius or any of the other District 12 Peacekeepers would have given me an extra minute.

As we walked towards the train station I looked back at District 12. I would never see my family again. I hated it here, but it was still my home. I glanced over my shoulder one last time as I was forced onto the Train with a one-way ticket to my death.

A/N what do you guys think, I'm pretty proud of myself for this. I'm not that great of a writer, so I would love some reviews to get some input on what you think so thanks for reading aha


	2. You're Behind My Eyelids When I'm Alone

Chapter 2 funtime. I wrote this the same day as 1, Well mostly I added a lot to it after I finished. It should be longer than chapter 1. I still suck at dialogue but I think I am starting to get better...maybe it's just me...whatever. Um there is some smut in this chapter, probably very poorly written since it is my first time aha how punny. Um this chapter is lyriced from Hurricane by P!ATD again...I'll try and make sure ch3 isn't a panic song aha

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Chapter 2: You're Behind My Eyelids When I'm All Alone

As we board the train I cannot help but marvel at the technology. Even things that are commonplace to Capitol citizens are new and amazing to me. I stand there playing with the automatic sliding door wondering how it works. I am mad at myself for being so impressed by anything that is connected to the Capitol. I should hate them. For some reason I don't, probably because they don't think there is anything wrong with the Games or with people starving to death in other Districts. They were taught to be carefree and that is what they do.

"Peeta," Effie beckons me with a finger, "you have dinner with Katniss and Haymitch in 5 minutes. So you should head towards the front of the the train. You won't be able to miss the dining room." Effie walks away in the opposite direction, I don't know where she is going, out escort is supposed to follow us everywhere. I start towards the front of the train, it is mostly a long hallway with small rooms every 300 feet or so. I wondered if we would have to stay in these small rooms. I made a note to ask Effie about that at dinner. After a couple minutes of walking I reached the dining room. Katniss looked at me blankly and Haymitch was still absent.

"Hey..." I said nervously, not sure of how to talk to the girl of my dreams.

"Yes?" Katniss asked.

"Um..." I looked nervously down at my feet. Katniss scoffed and rolled her eyes and went back to playing with her butter knife. I knew she had experience with a bow. My father often bought her catch. She was always able to shoot her prey through the eye almost every time. I wondered if she was skilled with a knife too. What skills did she possess?

"Hey peoples," Haymitch stumbled in drunkenly, "how are you? Oh wait, I don't care." He stumbled to his chair and almost fell while he tried to sit down.

"How do we win?" Katniss asked.

"Well sweetie you should just give up. You will probably won't make it past the first-"

"Haymitch!" Effie screamed as she came in the room overhearing the conversation.

"Well hey there pinky," Haymitch slurred, "don't get your panties in a bunch."

"Well I never!" Effie's says in a shocked manner.

"So as I was saying," Haymitch continued his speech, "you should just give up because you don't sta-" Haymitch was interrupted as Katniss stabbed the butter knife between his middle and ring finger. I was shocked at this display of aggression

"That is mahogany!" Effie scolded.

I looked at Effie with a confused face. Katniss almost stabbed our mentor, but Effie is fretting over the fact that she may have damaged the wood of the table? I don't think I would ever understand Capitol logic.

"Oh, looks like I got some fighters this year. It's been some time since a tribute from 12 has even attempted to get help. They normally give up as soon as their name is called. But not you, I like you two." Haymitch says sounding rather sober. "What you need to do in the Games is find water, shelter, and food. And don't be one of the idiots who lights a fire at night. They pretty much deserve to die, making it that damn easy. Stay away from the bloodbath, unless you want to die that is. That's all you need for now. You have access to the video of all of the previous Games so I recommend watching them to make a plan. But don't make a plan that is specific to a certain kind of Arena, because you can never be completely prepared for what the Games will hold.

"Thank you Haymitch." I say. After the tension from earlier we eat in silence. The dinner is amazing. Roast beef in a dark green sauce, with a bright blue melon of sorts, and then mugs of hot chocolate. I cannot believe my taste buds when I take my first sip. I expected the drink to be bitter coffee. The drink is so rich once I start drinking it I don't eat until I finish the entire mug. I then ask for even more as I continue eating my meal. All of the sudden my question from earlier pops into mind.

"Hey Effie, what are those smaller rooms for? Is that where we are staying?" I inquired.

"Oh God no! Those are for the Avoxes, they are servants, they can't speak but they will do anything you ask of them." Effie explained. I wondered why they can't speak, did they choose not to or was something done to them. I realized I didn't really want to know.

"May I be excused?" I asked politely. Katniss looked up at me and laughed. I don't get what she found so funny table manners are an important thing.

"Peeta, you don't have to ask, you can do as you please until we get to the Capitol, then there is some protocol that must be followed." Effie informed me.

"Oh well...thanks then." I said quickly as I left the room. I walked down the hallways until I reached another large room area. I didn't really know where my room was. I just started opening the doors. The first room I found was a small dining room with an Avox waiting by the door.

"Um, could I please have some hot chocolate?" I timidly asked. The Avox nodded and not a minute later I had a steaming mug of hot chocolate. This stuff wouldn't get old any time soon. I sipped on the warm drink as I explored the back half of the train. The next room I went to was a large room with a floor-to-ceiling window that showed the beautiful view of the wilderness that we were passing through. _What a wonderful view, what district are we in? It's a two day trip so maybe we are in 9 or 10, well whatever district it is they should get an award for having such a picturesque landscape._ I realize I got lost in my thoughts, I left the room and went to the next door. I finally found a room then I look in the drawers and find dresses and blouses. This must be Katniss' room I thought to myself. I walk to the room directly across the hallway and find my room.

I am amazed at how fancy the room is for being on a train. The room is probably larger than some of the entire houses back at home. There was a king sized bed with large comfy looking sheets. A large window with a view of the passing landscape. I also noticed the large screen at on the wall that was made to be viewed from the comfort of the bed.

I realized he hadn't showered since last night so I went into the bathroom that was connected to my room. Even though I knew no one would disturb me I still locked the door out of habit. I disrobed myself, quickly admiring my naked form in the large mirror. Then I stepped into the shower. Well it wasn't a shower more like a small room with jets and buttons on all of its sides. I pressed 3 buttons and all of the sudden I was doused in a foam that smelled of chocolate. I pressed about 5 more buttons as I attempted to turn off the jet that sprayed the brown chocolate scented foam. I only managed to turn on some scalding hot water as I was sprayed at all sides with burning water. I finally managed to press a button that lowered the water temperature to a bearable heat as the foam was washed off. I stood there in the shower for maybe 20 minutes pressing random buttons to see what they did. After being assaulted by foams and scrubbers he understood what buttons did what.

I got out of the shower feeling the cold air on my naked body. I shivered until I found a button on the outside of the shower that dried me off with warm hair. Even after being dried I realized how raw my skin was. I had been scrubbed everywhere, and it wasn't pleasant. I don't know why there was something to scrub your balls but I was regretting pressing that button. Also at some point a jet of water sprayed into my butt, to clean it out I assume, I won't ever understand the Capitol's reasoning for adding that as a feature. I did smell great though, at the end of the shower I reapplied the chocolate foam enjoying the fact that I smelled like my new favorite drink.

Through all of the events during the day I had never realized how tired I was. I didn't sleep well the night before the reaping, no one did. I didn't bother to see if the others were back from dinner. I really didn't care. I just wanted to sleep. I didn't bother to put on clothes as I slid into bed. I closed my eyes and thought of how much my life had changed since this morning. But the great thing is I finally had an opportunity to talk to Katniss. I knew I would be dead soon but it was better than nothing. As I thought about Katniss I felt my dick begin to stir until it reached full attention. I decided to ignore it for now and I started to watch some TV

I was watching Capitol television as Katniss walked into my room. She stood at the end of my bed. She took off her nightgown to reveal her naked body. Her body was as amazing as I fantasized. Large breasts that sagged a small amount. A flat stomach, and a small patch of hair between her strong thighs.  
"K..Katniss, w..what are you doing?" I stammered nervously.

"Well Peeta, I have always liked you, those deep blue eyes of yours, the sexy way you smirk when you find something amusing." she explained. "So why don't you shut the fuck up and let me make you feel good." Katniss walked over to the bed and tore off the sheets. She looked over my naked body. "Hmm, you are smaller than Gale," I felt a pang of jealousy, and she continued, "but it will do."

Katniss climbed on top of me. She was going straight to business. She leaned in to kiss me. As her lips met mine sparks flew through my body. I had never felt so good in my entire life. She was my first kiss. I guess she was going to be my first too. It was a good thing I guess, what teenage boy wants to die a virgin? Not me. She parted her lips and then I knew it was okay to use tongue. She was an amazing kisser. I loved the heat of her naked body against mine. She slowly made her way down my torso, kissing my body on the way down. Once she reached my hardened dick she kissed the head and then slowly licked up the entirety of my length. Then she engulfed my full length. She started to bob her head up and down. I had never felt this good in my life. The warmth of her mouth was amazing. She was very talented with that mouth of hers. I closed my eyes and groaned, this was perfect. This was way better than touching myself. I grabbed her hair forcing her to deepthroat my cock. It was so warm. I couldn't believe that Katniss Everdeen, the girl of my dreams, was giving me head. I would be even happier if I wasn't going to be dead soon. Although, if Katniss and I kept doing this until the Games it wouldn't be too shitty. After about 10 minutes I felt myself getting close to the point of no return.

"Ka...Katniss, I'm cumming." I groaned loudly as I shot my seed deep into her throat. After sitting there for a couple minutes. I opened my eyes to look at the beautiful girl sitting near my manhood and was greeted with a terrifying sight. Katniss was gone and in her place was the blonde from District 2. He looked up at me with a sexy smirk on his face. Those bright blue eyes gazing deeply into mine.

"Was that as good for you as it was for me?" he asked, the lust obvious in his voice.

I quickly sat up. I looked around I was alone in my room. It was a dream. Peeta realized he had had a wet dream, something that hadn't happened to him since he was 13. He went to the bathroom to get something to wipe his seed off of his body and then to quickly clean the sheets.  
Once everything was cleaned up I sat in bed thinking. _Why the fuck was he in my dream? I don't get it. I have never liked a boy but why was he popping into my dreams. What is going on? Whatever I don't like boys. Maybe it was all of that Capitol food. Whatever..._Once I finished processing what had just happened I went to turn off the TV but I stopped myself. The Capitol was showing a recap of the reapings. Once they reached District 2 reapings I saw the blonde boy. He was standing on the stage with that damn smirk of his. I felt my cock twitch. _How is that boy doing this to me?_ I pondered. I decided I would avoid him at all costs once we arrived to the Capitol. I don't know what would happen if I was around him...and it scared me.

After this dream I was far too shaken up to sleep. So I walked around the train. I stopped in the small dining room I found earlier to get some hot chocolate. As I looked up at the Avox, I was shocked to see a familiar face. I couldn't place it, but I knew I had seen him before.

"Hey, do I know you?" I asked hoping maybe they would reply if no one else is awake. The man opened its mouth, as if to say something, but then closed it. Not before I saw inside of his mouth. I was terrified. Where his tongue should be there was nothing. Is this what the Capitol did? I dropped my mug and was pulled back into reality as it shattered against the metal floors. I bent down to pick up the mug, but not before the Avox attempted to pick it up.

"NO!" I screamed. I saw the fear in his eyes. Then I realized who he was. Koren from the Seam. He was a coal worker who would come in to buy bread on special occasions. I also just realized I hadn't seen him since the winter, which broke records for the coldest winter in Panem's history.

"Why did they do this to you?" I said to myself. All of the sudden Koren ran to a drawer, pulled out paper and a pen, and frantically wrote something down.

_The Capitol did this to me._

_I tried taking some coal home to burn, so my family wouldn't freeze to death._

_A Peacekeeper caught me and arrested me._

_They took me to the Capitol and did this._

_I bet they found it hilarious assigning me to the District 12 train._

_I still worry about my wife and child._

_He was too young to take tesserae._

_My wife doesn't have a job._

_I hope they are being provided for._

_I don't want to lose the only thing that matters to me._

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away hoping he didn't notice. He looked at me with questioning in his eyes. I knew what he wanted to hear. I couldn't bear to tell him the truth. His wife and son had died not long after he "disappeared." I looked him in the eyes.

"Your family is fine," I lied, "the people of District 12 helped them out by giving them the necessities to survive." As I told him this his face lit up. He embraced me, holding me tight for a while, tears of joy running down his face. It was cruel to lie to tell the man, but he would never know, right? I would rather let the man live the rest of his miserable life with a glimmer of hope then hurting over the loss of his family. I gave him one last half-hearted smile as I walked into the hallway.

I walked until I found a room I hadn't seen before. I walked it to see a younger boy running. I realized someone must have been watching a recap of the Games. I watched silently as a larger tribute pounced on him and bashed his head in with a brick. Then realized this was the Games from 7 years ago. The Career female from 1 won. The arena that year was especially cruel. Modeled after a nuclear power plant it was a normal arena until the feast. The Gamemakers started a nuclear meltdown not long after announcing the feast. At the Cornucopia each bag held food and a small pill. This pill made the tribute who took it immune to the radiation that spread through the arena. All of the non-Career tributes died of radiation poisoning, being too afraid to face the Careers at the feast. Then the Careers turned on each other the little boy killing the District 1 male and both tributes from 4. The female killing the rest. What was her name...something strange...Gloss I think it was. This suspicion was confirmed as they showed her victory interview. She gave off waves of confidence. She talked about how glad she was that she could see her family again and that she could spend time with her younger brother.

I doubt she even cared that she had killed other teenagers. I doubt she cared that they had families at home grieving over their child's death. It was barbaric, but in District 1 or 2 killing is what they are taught to do.

"Can't sleep either?" a voice asks, I realize it's Katniss. I don't know how to reply, well I don't know how to explain why I can't sleep. Like I am going to tell her the real reason, I laughed to myself.  
"Yeah, just a lot going through my mind." It wasn't a lie, I just wasn't worrying about the Games like she was.

"This is crazy right? I mean one day I'm hunting for my family and then the next I'm heading to my death. It may sound terrible, but I blame Prim. If she actually would have learned to hunt I wouldn't've had to volunteer for her. She is too soft to do anything. I mean why did she never learn to hunt. I tried to teach her and she just felt bad about the animals dying and I'm just scared Peeta. I'm so scared." Katniss started to sob. Her body shaking with each sob. I went over to where she was sitting and rubbed her back until the sobs that racked her body stopped.

"Katniss, it's okay to be scared, it would be insane to not be afraid. There are 24 of us and only 1 gets out alive. But I believe you can win, I think you could do it. Do you want to know what my mom said...she said 'We might have a winner this year, she is a winner that one.' Katniss people believe in you. You gotta do this for Prim and your mother." As I finished speaking she sat up.

"Thank you Peeta, I feel a lot better, I think I can sleep now." She finishes talking and walks out of the room.

Well that was interesting. I decided I wanted to watch the coverage of the Games from the year that the other District 12 tribute won. I don't remember his name, I just know he died a few years back. He hung himself, in his suicide note he said he wanted the voices to go away. Most assumed he was a schizophrenic. Others believed he felt guilty for the lives he took and went mad.

I searched through the archive of videos until I found the 41st Hunger Games and then I pressed play.

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A/N Sorry if the smut sucked total balls (no pun intended) but I am trying to make my chapters longer. Don't want them being as short as the chapter 1. The next chapter is sort of a filler. I am just going to write out the 41st hunger games. Dunno what I am doing for the Arena but yeah... review if you would like, thanks for reading :)


	3. Nothing is Provocative

Sorry this is so short guys, and sorry the update took so long. But I was going to have the chapter be the pregame stuff and the Games but I decided to split it into two since I am going to write the Games in 3rd person since I'm not gonna deal with coming up with a backstory for a character that will not be mentioned there probably won't be too much dialogue either. The song lyric is from Sex Yeah by Marina and the Diamonds. I have already started working on chapter 4 and will probably have it up tomorrow or friday. So hope you enjoy

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Chapter 3: Nothing Is Provocative

I pressed the button on the remote and started watching. Instantly I was greeted by the smiling face of Caesar Flickerman. He decided to go with black for his color this year. I thought he looked like a skeleton, with the black makeup making his eyes look dark and the contours of his face gaunt.

"Well hello there Panem, I am here with Claudius Templesmith, covering the footage of the 41st Hunger Games. The Gamemakers assured this. They are probably going to make the Arenas especially grand in the decade of Games before the Quarter Quell."

"Could it be any more grand than the year where the arena was modeled after a giant space station. The Gamemakers even had special muttations that looked like aliens. Their spit was acidic _and_ poisonous making even a small bite extremely dangerous. Oh, and the fact that they were able to replicate the effects of what would happen if one was in space without a suit. I remember towards the end after they had brought all the final tributes in one area, they even turned off the gravity! That must of made it hard for the victor that year. A District 5 boy if I remember correctly." Claudius had a twinkle in his eye as he remembered previous Games.

"Very true Claudius, that was an extraordinary year. However, I believe the Gamemakers do manage to come up with some crazy twist for the Arena every year. Remember the year where the Arena was modeled after a castle, and the only weapons were maces and morning stars. That year the Careers were gone fast, none of them thought to train with the mace. Unfortunate for them. But enough talk about the previous years, the Tribute Parade will be starting soon."

I watched as Caesar and Claudius made small talk about some of their favorite tributes. They even brought up Titus, the Career who turned cannibalistic and would eat the hearts of his kills. It was true that the Hunger Games had no rules but there were two unspoken rules. First, do not kill your district partner. Secondly, no cannibalism, it bothered the Capitol citizens. I watched as the Tribute Parade began. I tried to remember the names of the tributes. District 1 was Diamond and Shimmer, District 2 were twin siblings Venice and Venicia. None of the other tributes really made an impression. District 12 looked ridiculous, they were wearing skintight black suits with dark makeup and a large...item...upon their head. It took me a while to realize that they were coal. I wondered what stylist thought _that_ was a good idea. I listened as President Snow made a speech about how important the Games were and how proud he is of the tributes. Then the tributes were ushered into the Training Center. They skipped to the broadcasting of the Tribute scores. Nothing too remarkable, all of the Careers getting between 8 and 10. A few of the tributes getting less than 5 which is normally a tactic to appear weak so you aren't a target. I was extremely surprised when the District 12 male, Varnis, got a 10. Normally District 12 tributes got fives and sixes. I wondered what he did to get such a high score. Then was the time for the interview with Axium Larkqueen, the Head Gamemaker.

"Welcome all to the Caesar Flickerman Show!" Caesar beamed, he continued, "Tonight we have a special guest. Axium Larkqueen, the new up and coming Head Gamemaker.

_He must have been the Gamemaker before Seneca, was there someone between them? I dunno... _I realized I stopped paying attention. I started to watch again.

"So what do you have planned for this year? What can you tell us? Any interesting traps we should know about?" Axium looked overwhelmed at all of these questions.

"Well...umm," Axium stuttered nervously, "I am not at liberty to tell you, but just know I have some tricks up my sleeve. And I did have some special ideas that needed to be looked at by President Snow himself. There will be some traps that could drive the tributes to insanity, but only if they succumb to the traps.

"Wow, seems like for it only being your second Games you have a big plan for the Arena."

"I sure do Caesar." Axium finished as it was time for a new guest to come on. I watched as they showed some of the Capitol's favorite Arenas. Both Quarter Quells were included. The year Annie Cresta won. I wondered if they were glad she won. That was one of the occasions where District 4 weren't Careers. I wonder if the Capitol citizens liked that year because a non-Career tribute won. It must be annoying to always have people from 1 and 2 winning. Maybe they didn't care. I sure know I was annoyed with Careers always winning. It's nice to see the "underdog" tributes win. I watched as the beginning of the Tribute interviews began. I would watch the Careers and District 12. I didn't really care about the rest. I mean probably half of those people would die at the Cornucopia and then the others would either be killed by the Arena or by other tributes. Caesar began with his warm welcome and talked for a while about things that were interesting at the time of those Games. Then it was time for Shimmer.

She bounced on stage wearing a tight silver dress that accentuated her curves and that made her...shimmer... Were her stylists not creative enough to do something else. _Damn, those stylists were vapid sometimes, _I laughed to myself. Her light brown hair was lightly curled and gave off a healthy shine. The stylists did great on her makeup, they exaggerated her sharp features making her look like royalty. Her lips were strange I didn't understand how they were so shiny until I realized her stylists must have put small red jewels on her lips. It was a strange look but it did scream luxury.

"Wow you look beautiful! What do you guys think?" Caesar asked the crowd. The crowd screamed their approval.

"Well thank you Caesar, I am just _so_ excited to be here. This has all happened so fast but I just want to quick say hello to my sister. Hey Queen, don't get too used to having your way, I'll be back soon enough. Sorry Caesar I promised her I would say hello."

"Well how old is she?" Caesar inquired.

"She is almost 10, she is my everything." A chorus of _aww_ came from the crowd.

"So what is your strategy for the Games this year?"

"Well Caesar, I can't give out all of my secrets," she winked, "but all of the other tributes should know not to underestimate me. Because when the time comes I will fight and I won't lose. I have been watching recaps of former years and I have a strategy for every arena the Gamemakers could throw at me."

"Well, we wish you the best of luck."

With that the buzzer rang. I watched the District 1 male. He talked about how he is prepared for the Games and then jokes around with the crowd and Caesar a little. The District 2 tributes talked about how happy they were to be in the Games together. Which I didn't understand. No matter how the Games went if one of them won the other was still dead. I skipped through the rest. I watched the District 12 girl who nervously answered all of the questions. She was wearing a dull black dress that looked beautiful on her pale skin. Then it was time for Varnis, he walked on stage with an air of confidence. Something rare for District 12 who didn't even have mentors. They had a Capitol appointed mentor who did little to help them get sponsors or give them any advice. He was a strong looking man. He was 18, so he probably got strong from working in the mines of 12. He was in a black tuxedo that gave off a dull shine. It looks like the stylists did very little work on his face, he was one of the few tributes who looked natural. He had a very attractive face, nice lips that hid a beautiful smile, black hair that shone healthily. The best feature of his face were his icy blue eyes. I got shivers as I looked at him. _What the fuck...I find him attractive too...maybe I do like guys a little...he is so confident and carries himself well. I wonder what he looks like under that tux. Whoa damn what am I thinking!? _My thoughts were interrupted as Caesar started to interview him.

"So, Varnis, what did you do to get such a high score?" Caesar asked with a big grin on his face.

"Well you get straight to business don't you business don't you Caesar?" The crowd laughed at his answer. "Well a lot of tributes don't know about this, but you can request to have a certain weapon if you want. So I asked for a weapon I was more familiar with. I don't think the Gamemakers were expecting something so different especially from District 12 so I must have really surprised them." He finished with a smile, showing off his pearly white teeth. Screams were heard from Capitol women.

"What is your strategy?" I wondered if Caesar asked every tribute who got a high score this question.

"Well, I just think you will be seeing some things from a District 12 tribute that you have never seen before. Don't count me out of the Games this year." He finished with that bright smile of his again. I bet that smile alone got him some sponsors. The buzzer rang and he was ushered off of the stage with more applause than the Careers received.

I realized the next thing to happen would be the Games. I wondered what the Arena was. I had probably seen a recap of this at some point in my life but I didn't remember.

After about 30 minutes of talking it was time for the unveiling of the Arena. I was really disappointed. It was just a giant field with a forest surrounding the Cornucopia area. A map of the Arena was shown, within the forest there were a few lakes and ponds. The tributes were raised into the Arena. A lot of them were looking around trying to figure out what their plan should be. The countdown began, a camera panned around the circle. 15 seconds into the countdown a bright light shot out of the Cornucopia's tail. I realized it was creating a hologram in the sky. The hologram was a giant cube. The upward and downward facing sides of the cube were blank. On one side there was a teardrop shape next to a paw print, then a circle, then the paw print again except without another symbol, and finally what looked like a broken piece of glass with the point facing downwards. All of the tributes looked extremely confused. The hologram stayed above the Cornucopia until the final countdown.

"Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One..." The gong sounded "Let the 41st Hunger Games Begin."


	4. Tonight I'm Gonna Come Alive

Um sooo this chapter is in a really strange perspective. It's 3rd person but it's 3rd person as the Games are taking place instead of 3rd person as Peeta watches...sorry if I accidentally have any first person stuff. And sorry this took so long I worked a lot this week and then I was planning on uploading it on saturday but I was at my dad's house and the story is on my mom's compooper. Oh and the Song is Dressing Up by Katy Perry

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Chapter 4: Tonight I'm Gonna Come Alive

3rd Person

Tributes ran in every direction some towards the Cornucopia some towards the forest and some towards each other. The Careers all ran towards the mouth of the Cornucopia looking for the best weapons. Varnis had already made it into the Cornucopia and found the supplies he needed and was running out as he was attacked by a tribute. Grabbing the tributes arm he slammed it down on his knee, breaking the tributes arm at an unnatural angle. Then grabbing his knife and stabbed the screaming tribute in the throat. A look of shock crossed his face once he knew what he did but realized he had to run before the Careers finished attacking the other tributes. Quickly pulling out the knife Varnis sprinted towards the forest. The screams of the tributes at the bloodbath slowly faded as the boy from 12 made it further into the forest.

He was looking for a tree. It wouldn't be an easy task for him because of his size. Eventually finding a pine tree that could support his weight at a height that would keep him safe from most attacks. Climbing until he sat on a sturdy branch. Pulling out the items knowing inventory would have to be taken. He had a bag, the bloody knife, and the keys to his survival, two steel pickaxes. Gladdened that the Gamemakers put them in the Arena. God knows what would have happened if they didn't. The chances of his victory would be slim to none. Being used to the Capitol supplied pickaxes, that he worked with in the mines, he would have no problem wielding them. The only difficulty would be finding food. Knowing he spent a good amount of time at the edible plants station, he was confident about finding food. But protein was also essential to survival. To get protein he would need to hunt or set snares. The snare station in the Training Center confused him but he had a basic understanding of animal traps. Wondering what was in the bag from the Cornucopia he decided to look through it. Was the bag meant especially for him? It was right on top of the two pickaxes, and looked similar to the fabric that he wore for the interviews. It was really close to the mouth of the Cornucopia, probably since it held more value than many other items normally near the bloodbath. He thought back to the tribute he killed. _What district was he from?_. Realizing he would see later that night he pushed the thought out of mind. It was his first kill. Somewhere in Panem his family is weeping over his death and cursing Varnis' name.

Starting to looking through his bag, he hoped for the best. Inside he found a sleeping bag that looked extremely warm, a facemask, a hat, gloves, rope, thick socks, a small book with a guide to edible plants, 100 feet of wire all coiled up, an empty water bottle, some iodine tablets, and then some dried meat and fruit. Water was important in the Arena so the decision was made to look for water the next day. Right before he put everything back in he found a small golden ring. It looked too small for his finger but as he slid it on it increased in size until it fit comfortably but was tight enough that it wouldn't fall off. He didn't know that was even possible. Looking at the ring he realized that on it were the symbols from the hologram. The teardrop shape of the ring was glowing. Not understanding what the point of the ring, he still knew it was safer to keep in on just in case. The rest of the items easily fit back into his bag. After putting his supplies in he took the pickaxes and the knife towards the top of the pack. He realized how tame the Arena was, no bad weather or poisonous foods. No mutts so far. Maybe this year wouldn't be too bad. Not having anything to do he looked at the clothing they gave the tributes this year. Boots with some thick pants and a jacket that reflected heat, or so said his stylist. Assuming the Arena was going to get really cold would probably be correct. Otherwise, there was no reason for all the winter gear. Years with wintery Arenas were the worst. Most tributes die of exposure. Deciding not to use the sleeping bag he tied himself to the branch he was sitting on. Also, he tied his black bag to the bottom of the branch right under his stomach for easy access to weapons in case of emergency.

Before falling asleep a large cannon boomed, startling the tired tribute. He forgot that on the first day the cannon shots are saved until the night since so many tributes die in the first couple hours. Sitting silently as 12 tribute's cannons boomed.. Then the Capitol's anthem was played and the faces of the dead tributes were shown in the sky. Looking for the face of the boy he killed, he nodded to himself when he recognized the face of the boy from 5. The boy from 3, both from 5, the girl from 6, the girl from 7, both from 8, the boy from 9, both from 10, the boy from 11, and then his district partner. Should have paid attention to her, but what could he do now? Pressing three fingers to his lips and raising his arms, he showed the honorary gesture in District 12. Coming to the realization that half of the tributes were dead was a little crazy. That only meant another 4 tributes before. He now knew who the Careers were though, District 1, 2, and 4. Wondering where they set up camp so he could them as much as possible. After thinking to himself for a while he slowly drifted into a silent sleep.

Day 2

Varnis woke to an extremely bright sun that managed to break through the thick foliage of the forest. Looking around nothing seemed different except the sun seemed brighter. Confused by his location a slight frown appeared on his face once remembering where he was. Deciding to look for water he fumbled with the knot having some difficulty getting it undone. His muscles were sore from sleeping on the branch. He decided that he would sleep with the sleeping bag for the rest of his time in the Games. Even if the fabric was thin it would provide some padding. The rope slid through his fingers as he rolled it into a ball. Taking out the knife he slowly scaled down the tree constantly checking his surroundings looking for any signs of a threat. Once he got to the ground he rummaged through his backpack for the wire. The surrounding forest was abuzz with birds. This meant there were animals to be caught. Starting to set snares around the the tree he realized he wouldn't know where they were if he got lost. Marking the trees near the giant pine seemed like the smart idea. After looking around to make sure no one would sneak up on him. Once he was satisfied with his marking job he put the knife back in the bag. Wondering if there was another way to quickly find the tree he set off in a random direction. After going nowhere for what felt like forever he saw the side of the Cornucopia. A little to close for comfort Varnis backed a little further back into the thick foliage. He decided to look and see if anyone was there. He walked a couple hundred feet towards the mouth of the Cornucopia never leaving the cover of the forest. The Career camp soon came into view, they had multiple tents with Diamond and the District 4 girl guarding the camp. Wondering if the rest were out "hunting." It was pointless to call them cruel for doing it. The Games were like a band-aid better to get it over with quick and suffer a little pain instead of slowly killing everyone making it a slow and uncomfortable process. The uncomfortable feeling he felt passed as he turned away from the camp and walked into the forest. Knowing he may have to wait an entire day before the snares would possibly catch anything, he knew he would have to hunt. He heard a snap a couple feet away. Quickly whipping around he pulled out both pickaxes only to see a rather large rabbit. Slowly bringing one of the pickaxes back in an ark. The realization came that he had only practiced throwing pickaxes for a couple hours. Not knowing he was actually rather skilled at throwing the mining axe. Muscles tensing for the moment when he would throw the pickaxe. He was pleasantly surprised to see that he had managed to hit the rabbit in the head with one of the pointy ends of the pickaxe. Knowing he should to go back to the tree to be able to hide the rabbit he decided not to. This did mean he would have to make a fire at some point. He would figure it out when the time came. After finding a way to attach the bloody rabbit to his bag without putting it inside he continued. Feeling the suns rays on him he realized it was a lot hotter than the previous day. Stripping off his jacket he stared at it for a while before deciding to tie it around his waist. He knew that if he threw it away there was the possibility that he could need it later. The heat was unfortunate and Varnis found himself wishing it was as cool as it was the previous day.

After hours of searching he discovered a clearing. There was a large body of water inside of this clearing. It was larger than a pond but smaller than a lake. He thought that now would be a good time to take a quick break. He filled his water bottle and put the iodine drops in. Almost caving to thirst he had the determination to not drink the possibly tainted water. Who knew what the Gamemakers had put in the water? As he was was putting the water bottle back in his bag when he realized the teardrop shape was no longer glowing. He looked at the ring looking puzzled. He turned the rind looking for a difference. It took a couple minutes of studying the ring to realize the circle was glowing. Looking up into the sky Varnis hoped for some sort of a clue as to what the symbols meant. All he saw was the sun and a few clouds. The sky was already beginning to turn pink and orange. He didn't realize how long he was out. Retracing his steps he headed towards where he had came from. It wasn't long until the Cornucopia was in view. His location was far enough into the forest that the Cornucopia was visible but far enough that he couldn't be seen from the main area. In the distance a flickering fire was visible. He took out both of his pickaxes and slowly walked towards the light. He saw a tribute sitting by the fire. He looked familiar. Varnis decided to walk until he was behind the tribute. He snuck up until he was in the range to attack. Swinging his pickaxe he aimed for the crown of the tributes head, hoping to give him a quick death. Shuddering as he felt the bone crack the point of the mining axe broke through the tributes skull and stabbed at the pinkish-grey flesh beneath the bone. Listening for the poor boy's cannon to go off. Sighing with relief once he heard the boom. Varnis knew the hovercraft would come to pick him up and he needed the fire to cook the rabbit from earlier. So he moved the body a couple hundred feet away and as he walked back he put the pickaxes back into the bag. Once he reached the fire he took out the knife and skinned the rabbit and then cooked it on a makeshift spit. As he ate the rabbit he realized it was richer than any rabbit that he had ever had. They were probably a harmless muttation that were made to be far more nutritious and filling than normal rabbit should be. Remembering that on most occasions he could normally eat an entire rabbit but after eating half of the Arena rabbit he was full. Satisfied with his meal he threw dirt on the fire.. He put the extra rabbit inside of the bag with his dried meat. Walking away he quickly ran back to the area where he killed the boy and grabbed the dead tributes supplies not checking to see what he had and put them in his bag.

Eventually finding the tree he stayed in the previous night he climbed to where he slept the previous night. Almost forgetting what he told himself earlier he took out the bag and climbed in. Then he decided to look looked through the supplies from the boy. There was some dried meat and fruit, some knives. Once he saw the next items he realized how grave his actions were. The next two items that he found was some fishing line and fishing hooks. Most people didn't bother with the fishing station. And the only other people who were good at fishing would be from District 4. He had killed one of the Careers! That one kill had made Varnis unintentionally sign a contract with Death. Why was the tribute even in the forest? Probably on watch to see if anyone got dangerously close to the Cornucopia area. Why was he such an easy kill though? Normally District 4 tributes were clever enough to not be sitting in the open. And if they were they had some sort of way to detect if a someone else was close. Calming down, he realized that he probably was safe from the Careers. The bodies were quickly taken away. They had no way of knowing it was him. Then it hit him. Another tribute's life had been taken because of him. He wasn't proud of it, but was glad that he at least made it quick. The Careers had a history of making the deaths slow and painful. He started to put all of the supplies, spare the hooks, into his bag. The lack of skill the District 12 tribute possessed at fishing meant they were pointless. At least the line could be used for snares. Still having most of the wire left he knew you could never be too safe. As he secured his bag on the branch the anthem started to play. The face of the boy he killed lit up the sky. He heard a female cry. No other deaths that day. He slowly relaxed his body giving in to the weariness he felt.

Day 3

Varnis awoke to a colder Arena than he remembered. Realizing he could see his breath he knew it must have been 30 or 40 degrees colder. Slowly becoming more aware of his surrounding he realized the forest had changed. It was all reds, oranges, and browns as he looked around. Then it clicked, he looked at his ring and saw the tree symbol glowing red. The Arena changed seasons every day. He was almost sure that tomorrow would probably be another bloodbath. The leaves would be gone leaving him without any tree cover. Even though he was staying in a pine tree he was sure the Gamemakers would make the needles fall off and then regrow. Sitting in the tree he came up with his plan for the day. First would be to eat the rest of the rabbit, then check his snares, and look for another tribute. He didn't want these Games to last any longer than they needed to. The main part of the Games goes by the saying "Hunt or Be Hunted" so he decided if he died, he would rather die at the hands of another tribute instead of some sick trap. Hands fumbling around the dark bag his hands searched for the plastic bag with the rabbit and dried meat. Once he pulled the bag out he ate the remaining rabbit and decided it was time to climb down. He checked his snares, he had very good luck so far. Three of the four snares had small woodland animals, a squirrel, another rabbit, and some bird that was unfamiliar to him. Bringing them to the tree he made the godawful trip up to where his sleeping bag was and tied them to a branch a couple feet away. As he started to climb down and halfway down he heard twigs cracking in the distance. Becoming dead silent he stopped all of his movement. A look of shock appeared on the strong face of the tribute when he saw the Careers. They were looking around with all of their weapons in hand. Thanking the gods he realized he was glad none of them could use a bow because he would be in danger if was seen.

"We need to find the bastard that killed Stratin, that fucker needs to pay for what he did." Varnis tried to place the female voice but just ended up assuming it was his District partner.

"Calm down Raina, whoever did it won't stand a chance. I bet it was the bitch from District 3, she was pissed that we didn't let her in." Another male voice added.

"Like hell it was, that little bitch only got a 7, Stratin got a 9, and he didn't scream for help. Whoever killed him snuck up and did it quick. Otherwise, he would of called for backup. We were only a minute or two away. Even if he still would have died we could have killed his murderer!" Raina yelled, a small echo rang through the forest. Varnis wondered why of all places they had to pause to talk this close to him.

"Raina, you need to shut the fuck up, you are screaming, and even though we are prepared for this if you bring all of the remaining tributes to us we will be screwed." A stern female voice said with and edge in their tone. It got quiet for a while, then there was a loud cracking noise. Then a cannon shot confirming the death.

"Raina, what the fuck!? You killed Venicia, why the hell did you do that!?" A voice that must have belonged to Shimmer screamed at Raina.

"She was annoying, she always just bossed everyone around. Does she think she stood a chance? She would be the first dead once the Careers were left. Anyway bitch had it co-" her tirade was cut off by a snapping noise and then the sounds of something heavy dropping. Another cannon.

"That's what you get for killing my sister bitch." Venice said. Varnis climbed down a little to see the carnage. Venicia had a large dent in her head that looked terrible even from a distance. And the sight of Raina's body almost made Varnis vomit up the rabbit. Her body was stomach down on the ground and her head was facing the sky. Watching intensely he saw Venice spit on Raina's body. The large District 2 male then went over to Venicia kissed her on the forehead and close her eyes. He looked back over at Raina. He pulled out a knife and sliced something into her forehead. Varnis couldn't see. But once he was done they all stood there for a while and then they walked away. Varnis looked closely at Raina's forehead and saw _Traitor_ cut into her forehead.

After about 10 the hovercrafts came. Only then did he know it was safe, if there was a possibility of action the hovercrafts would wait until after. He finished his climb to the ground and decided to go look for other tributes. As he walked through the forest he realized that there were only 3 Career tributes left. Raina's craziness was a blessing in disguise. Creeping around the forest he was glad to see some green in the middle of a small clearing. Quickly checking to see if anyone else was near. Once Varnis was satisfied he stalked towards the tent, He it would be a good idea to see where the sun was in the sky. It looked to be close to evening. He felt a slight breeze and saw some leaves begin to fall off of the trees. Deciding not to kill whoever was in the tent since he might want to salvage the for his own use. He took out one of his pickaxes and his knife. Slamming his pickaxe against a tree it made a noise loud enough to wake up whoever was inside. He watched as the District 7 male climbed out of the tent shirtless. Noticing how muscular he was Varnis knew he could be a possible threat. His hair looked disheveled and he only had boxers on.

"What was that?" the hidden District 12 tribute almost laughed when he heard the girls voice. He watched as one of the few female tributes climbed out of the tent. She had beautiful brown hair that was sticking up in every which direction. She beckoned him back into the tent. Varnis sat there awkwardly waiting for one of them to leave the tent. Holding in laughter as he bagan to hear loud moans coming from the female. These moans and grunts came from the tent for a few minutes. Then he heard a sharp gasp and a sobbing. He realized it belonged to the girl. He heard a cannon. He quickly hid behind the tree in front of him as the male tribute climbed out of the tent buck naked. His manhood was still somewhat hard. He heard the tribute mumble something that sounded like stupid bitch and then he walked to a tree and paused to pee. This was the opportunity to kill the muscular tribute. He tightened the grip on his weapons as he snuck up on the tribute and winced as he stepped on a branch. The large tribute whipped around to face him. He saw Varnis and charged straight at him. Varnis sidestepping the bulky man he swung the knife at him. He realized he had missed the large torso of the man. The sidestep messed up his aim. The tribute attempted to attack again but fell as blood spurted out of the wound on the back of his knee. The tribute knew the end was near and was trying to army crawl away. Varnis decided to end his pain and he flipped the tribute over. The District 12 boy hesitating, looking at the extreme fear in his eyes. He closed his eyes as he swung the pickaxe. He slowly opened his eyes glad that he hit his target. One of the ends of the weapon was embedded deep into his chest. Glad to know he got him in the heart, a rather quick death. A cannon sounded. He decided he would at least put clothes on the body. He went into the tent to see the female tribute naked and trembling like a leaf. She had a knife that was plunged all of the way inside of her stomach.

"D-d-did you," she coughed," k-kill him?" She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Yeah..." He whispered his voice catching in his throat. "Where are you from?" Varnis asked.

"T-t-three." She stuttered coughing more than before.

"Well just think, soon you'll be home." She smiled before sighing and closing her eyes forever. The cannon signaled her death. Varnis pulled the knife out of her stomach. He dressed her body and brought her out and put her next to the guy. After he was sure they were far enough away for their bodies to be taken he went back to the tent to look for supplies. He didn't find anything useful. He did grab the sleeping bag and shoved it into his bag. All of the sudden Varnis stopped and smiled. Never did he think he would make it to the final 8. Knowing night would be coming soon he decided to try and find his tree.

He realized that if the cannon sounded and he thought the girl was dead. But if it wasn't her who was it? The forest was getting darker as the sun sunk towards the horizon. The leaves were falling steadily and a breeze was starting to pick up. One leaf drifted near his face and he felt a sharp pain on his nose. Bringing a finger to his nose he realized it was bleeding. Was it the leaf? Aimlessly walking around for a while he eventually found trees that had marks from his knife. He realized it was dead silent. Too silent. Then he heard the crunch of dead leaves and twang. He dropped to the ground as an arrow lodged itself into the tree that he was just standing in front of. The breeze begin to pick up stronger than before. The leaves were stirring. Feeling a sharp pain on the back of his calf he looked back to see the lead had cut through his pants. Quickly jumping up he sprinted the final stretch to the tree where he had stayed. Then he felt his arm explode in white hot pain. Almost vomiting when he looked at where the arrow had pierced straight through his arm. Looking back he saw a girl with dark skin pulling the string on the bow back for another shot. He was almost back to the tree. The breeze was now a gale. The leaves were flying everywhere. Varnis felt the pain every time a leaf cut him. Finally reaching the tree he began climbing. The arm injury was slowing him down significantly and making the tiring climb even worse. However, he did realize the leaves were not making there way inside of the sanctuary of the pine tree. He looked down to see the tribute trying to run and escape the razor leaves but the wind was just getting stronger. There was screaming and then nothing. A few minutes after the silence two cannons boomed. After the booms the wind died down. The anthem played and he looked up to see who died. The District 3 girl, the District 6 male, the District 7 male, the District 9 female, and the District 11 female who tried to kill him not too long ago.

He was in the final 4. It was time to win. Sitting still due to the extreme pain seemed like the best idea until he heard a beeping in the distance getting closer with each second. Watching as the parachute hit the tree near him. Knowing it was probably something to help him he climbed down slowly wincing with every movement. He took off the parachute and grabbed the container and put it in his bag. He had forgotten about his bag, he looked at it, the fabric had some cuts but didn't look like anything fell out. Grabbing the canister he put it inside of the bag and made the painful climb back up. Once he reached his normal sleeping spot he opened the canister and found a needle a wire cutter and a tin of medicine. On a slip of paper it said "Shot, snap,pull,lather." He understood immediately what he had to do. Giving himself the shot he felt as his arm began to go numb. Then taking the wire cutters he snipped off the tail end of the arrow and pulled it out. He then applied the medicine to the hole in his arm and let it sit there. He also applied it to the small cuts, those instantly felt better the second he put the cream on them. Pulling out the thinner sleeping bag he cut a strip out of the fabric and tied it around the hole to keep the cream in. He slowly drifted into sleep.

_Day 4_

He woke up freezing. Varnis knew winter was the next day of the arena so why didn't he put on the winter supplies of his. Shivering as he put on the facemask, gloves, the hat, and then put the socks on top of his own. The jacket was doing a good job of keeping him warm. Deciding to himself that the final confrontation could wait until tomorrow. It would be spring which would mean the fighting conditions would be better. Varnis climbed into his sleeping bag and relaxed for the rest of the day. Before he went to sleep he checked his arm and was amazed to find brand new pink flesh under the makeshift bandage. He flexed his hands a few time, feeling a new stiffness in his middle and ring finger on his left hand. He could deal with it. He had a fitful night of sleep knowing what would be coming next.

_The final day_

Varnis woke up extremely early. The sun wasn't up yet. He took out his food and ate the rest of it knowing today would be his last, victor or not. Dropping his pickaxes and knifes to the ground he decided to leave his bag in the tree. He climbed down the tree and headed towards the Career camp. Even though they had low numbers he doubted they had moved, and he was correct when he saw the fire near the mouth of the Cornucopia. Diamond was guarding the entrance where there were two tents inside the mouth. Varnis looked around for something to throw. He found a small rock and threw it towards the mouth of the Cornucopia. Diamond heard and bolted up. He walked over to the tents and said something Varnis didn't hear and walked towards the forest. Not long after he left there was a cannon fire. He headed towards where Diamond was. He was surprised to see him leaning against a tree.

"Huh, well, way to go Twelve you did it. You made it this far. Where did you hide, we looked everywhere but we never saw you?" Varnis stood there "I bet you were the one who killed Stratis, which sort of means you killed Venicia and Raina. So lets ignore the fact that Venice probably killed Shimmer and lets fight." Diamond stalked towards Varnis, pulling out a medium length sword. He made the first attack slicing at his chest and cutting him. Diamond tackled the District 12 tribute pinning him down and stabbed at his head. Luckily his aim was poor and he missed Varnis' head. The pinned down tribute kneed the Career in the balls. Diamond jumped up and watched as Varnis swung. As the pickaxe came towards Diamond he stuck out his hands in protection. The pickacxe stabbed straight through his left hand. The Career dropped to the ground screaming in pain. Careers were such pussies. Varnis took out one of his knives and slit Diamond's throat, realizing all he had to do was beat the brute known as Venice. He heard Diamond's cannon boom.

He started walking towards the Cornucopia pickaxes in hand. He saw Shimmer standing near the mouth of the Cornucopia. She was standing there crying. Taking advantage of the situation he threw one of his pickaxes. He hit her in the leg. He threw the other and watched in slow motion as the pickaxe spun in the air and embedded itself into her eye. He heard the 23rd cannon boom.

And in that moment he realized he had won the Games.

"May I welcome, the Victor of the 41st Hunger Games Varnis Mellark."

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Sorry the final fight was so anticlimactic but I just really don't care...I didn't want to have to write a giant fight scene...sorry bout it :/

ahh but what a twiiist! I made that decision and just am gonna go with it. But it does make for an interesting story for later or dunno whateverrr. Umm yeah so that was fun and stuff I will try and have a chapter up by next sunday :) Enjoy oh and next chapter is Peeta's reaction to the news/getting to the capitol/the Tribute Parade.


	5. No Light In Your Bright Blue Eyes

Sorry that took so long I have been busy with work. This chapter is kinda ehh so I apologize. Umm back to Peeta POV awesomeness. Awkward naked moment with Peeta and Cato so enjoy. Hooray for you if you catch the Jennifer Lawrence MTV interview reference. And the Teen Wolf reference was far easier to see. Whatevs, um so yup hope you enjoy. And Song is "No Light, No Light" by Florence + the Machines

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Ch 5: No Light in Your Bright Blue Eyes

Peeta POV

"The FUCK!" I screamed. Varnis was a Mellark? There is no way that he was related to me. I rewatched the final minute of the Games hoping that I had misheard. It had to be a lie. Thinking about what this information meant for me was important. Was I reaped because of him? Why was I never told about him? It would also explain how my family got the money to start the bakery. My mother's parents were Seam folk and had near no money. So Varnis must have given some of the money from the Capitol to my father so he could start the bakery. The funny thing was is that my dad built the bakery to woo my mother. My dad hates baking with a passion since he tends to burn everything he makes. If he has to work in the bakery he decorates pastries and does the menial tasks. I realized I had never met my grandpa, over time I just assumed he was dead. When I think back, one of the main customers in the past was a man named Varnis. I just assumed he had hunted and traded for money. It also explained why my dad was so torn up at the suicide of the former victor. It wouldn't make sense to cry just because a regular customer died, but crying for a father would make sense. I had only talked to him a few times, but whenever we talked he had a twinkle in his deep grey eyes. He always looked happy to see my family. I did wonder why he stayed away from my family. Probably my mother, I bet she thought it would make us bigger targets for the reaping. Grabbing the remote I turned off the television and went back to my room. I went back to my bed and laid down, the sun was beginning to rise. Feeling tired, I decided to sleep until Effie woke me up. Sleep came quickly. Luckily I didn't have any other dreams about the District 2 boy with the bright blue eyes.

"Oh Peeta!" Effie's shrill Capitol accent rang through the room, "Time to get out of bed sleepyhead. You have lunch and then we arrive at the Capitol. I let you sleep through breakfast since you weren't responding to my wakeup calls." In the back of my head I remembered telling her to go away sometime during my sleep. I thought it was a dream but guess not.

"Yeah, I'm up now, I'll be out for lunch soon." giving her the only answer that would make her shut up. Feeling grimy from sleeping so much I decided to take a shower. As I walked into the bathroom I looked in the mirror. Already I looked different, I looked more tired than I ever had. Even though I had slept for a long time I still felt tired. I disrobed myself and looked at my naked body. _I could do this, I could fight, I mean I have the body_ I thought to myself. My hands ran over my torso and abdomen. Feeling my abdomen muscles was always enjoyable. Most guys from District 12 were too skinny to have muscles, but since I was well fed and did some heavy lifting I had a decent body. My pecs were defined but not bulging, my small nipples were erect due to the fact that I was a little cold. Admiring my body was a regular activity for me. I flexed my arms enjoying how big they were. Well, they were big for the size of my body. Having big muscles like a Career was impossible for me. I felt as my manhood began to grow. That tends to happen when I admire my body. It was a vain activity but I held pride in my body. Knowing that I would probably pleasure myself in the shower I quickly got in. It always tended to take me a while to cum so I knew I would have to hurry. Quickly pressing the buttons that I remembered would make the water a decent temperature I felt as the warm water cascaded over my body. I would need lube if I wanted to finish faster. Going dry always took far longer. The soap would probably work. I pressed the button that I knew would shoot out a green soap that smelled of mint. Scraping some of the soap off of my torso I brought the soapy hand to my hard member. I grabbed the base of my member and began to make slow strokes. The familiar feeling was wonderful. Nothing was better to me than touching myself. I started to imagine Katniss stroking me. Looking up at me with those bright blue eyes of her. _Wait, Katniss doesn't have blue eyes_ I stopped for a minute. I started again and was thinking about her big strong hands rubbing my length and the other rubbing my torso. I stopped again _Katniss doesn't have big strong hands_. Pushing the thought out of mind I continued again. Continuing to fantasize I thought about the heat from her bulging pecs and rock hard abdomen. _The fuck Peeta?! Why are you fantasizing about the District 2 boy again_ I yelled at myself mentally. I was getting close to the point of no that all I could think about was the strong hands of the larger male. Him touching me all over, kissing me passionately, the heat of our naked bodies together. What would it feel like to have him inside of me. I decided to try something new. I brought a finger to my mouth and covered it in spit before I brought it to my entrance. It was slightly painful as I pushed in. It was so warm and so damn second my finger was all the way in I came. This wasn't like normal, my whole body convulsed and there was more cum than usual. I had never had an orgasm that amazing. The worst thing was realizing my best orgasm was brought on by thinking of the large male from District 2. I just had a gay orgasm. Thoughts flew through my head but I was too tired to address them. Staying away from him once we got to the Capitol was priority number 1. Finishing up my shower with a coating of the chocolate smelling foam I turned the water off. I climbed out of the shower and put my clothes on. It was time for his final lunch before he faced the Capitol.

"Hey Peeta," Katniss greeted me with a grin, "What took ya so long?"

"Um, I feel asleep again. I mean those beds are too damn comfortable." smirking in satisfaction at the lie I just told.

"Too true, I fell asleep faster than I ever have...Well, in my entire life." she finished with a slight frown on her face.

"Don't think that way Katniss, because you are gonna do great. I mean you sure are handy with your bow. I know you probably won't have a single problem." Her face lit up at the mention of winning. She did truly have a chance. She was skilled at hunting and she could kill targets from a long distance. Unlike me, I was screwed.

"Thanks Peeta, but don't sell yourself short, I know you are pretty strong for a District 12 guy. I mean I always see you lifting those huge sacks of flour." She watched me? I felt myself blushing. Wow, she actually paid attention to me. Never had I felt so amazing.

"Hellooo, Earth to Peeta." Katniss waved her hand in front of my eyes. "As I was saying it is going to be hard going against the Careers this year, especially the boy from 2. Ugh, what was his name again?" After sitting there for a moment the name came to her. "Cato! Cato Hale, that was it! He seems like a huge threat."

"He really does, I bet he is 18 and was waiting until he had the most training. He will probably be the first to turn if the Careers are the last ones left."

"Well Peeta, lets just try and make sure that doesn't happen." She finished with a smile and went back to eating her food. I sat across the table from Katniss. The smell of the food was amazing, I started to serve myself. Almost drooling as I grabbed some lamb and plum stew, then some pork, a strange fruit with little red pods inside of it, and another fruit with white flesh dotted with black seeds. As I sat back down to eat Haymitch walked into the room seeming rather sober. He just stood there for a while so I went back to eating. I had almost forgotten Effie was in the room. She was sitting at the head of the table silently snacking. After finishing my pork I decided to try the white fleshed fruit. The taste exploded in my mouth. It tasted similar to melon except sweeter.

"Effie what is this?" I asked

"Well Peeta, that is called a dragonfruit, it grows in District 11, they got the seeds from the Capitol. The seeds were saved pre-Dark Days and now are grown in special greenhouses in 11. They are a Capitol favorite, along with the other fruit you have there the pomegranate. Fun Fact, the pomegranate was known as the fruit of the dead in Greek times." She went back to snacking on sliced fruit. How coincidental that I picked the fruit of the dead as I traveled to my death. I pushed away the pomegranate, finding myself disgusted at the idea of eating the fruit. I finished the lamb and plum stew as we were plunged into darkness. Looking over at Katniss I could see how uncomfortable she was. I wondered why but then remembered. Her father was killed in a mining accident, she was probably terrified of being trapped under the tons of rock that were above us. Hoping the gesture would help, I grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. She gave me a small smile. Less than a minute later we were back outside; Katniss looked like a thousand pound weight was lifted of her chest. Not long leaving the mountain the Capitol came in to view. It was breathtaking The buildings rose to incredible heights and shined brightly. Some building were black, some bright pink, and some were covered completely in lights. It was beautiful. As we got closer you could see the people. Little glimpses of them showed the Capitol's strange fashion. A woman with all pink clothes walking 2 lime green dogs. A man with bright yellow skin and coal black eyes. It was all overwhelming for me. Soon we were in the train station there were Capitol citizens outside cheering. I walked towards one of the windows and waved excitedly. The bizarre people outside the train screamed once I acknowledged them. Once we stopped we where whisked out of the train and put into another car. We slowly drove towards a large building. The Remake Center, they would make the tributes over before the Tribute Parade and then we would move to the Training Center. Once I was inside I was grabbed by three people and brought into a room. They commanded me to strip, I did, they walked around my naked body. As they were looking at me I looked around the room. I saw a bathtub with many colorful bottles on a shelf near it. Then there was a metal table and a cart with bottles and creams. And on the other side of the table there was another cart with a bunch of tweezers and other items he didn't understand. Just as I finished looking around my design team started talking.

"Well hello Peeta, we are your design team and we are here to make you over." They all said this at once, I wondered how long they had planned that.

"I'm Bornia." said a female in a bright blue blouse and some dark jeans. Her skin was almost white and her eyes were a deep blue. Her hair was black with little lights braided in. It was a strange look but I liked it.

"I'm Vaen." the large male introduced himself. He had light purple skin. He was wearing a, well, I don't know how to describe it. It was a suit of sorts but it was almost clear. It didn't leave much to the imagination. His eyes were purple as well. How funny that one of his team's name is Vaen, because he probaby was, vain.

"And last but not least I'm Portia." The woman walked up to me. "I will be your stylist. These two will be making you over before you come and get your parade outfit." I looked her over, she had a simple black dress on. She had phosphorescent orangey-bronze skin. And then she had dark brown curled hair. I felt as if I could trust her. I nodded and watched as she left the room. Then I was attacked by the two members of the design team. They ushered me over into the bathtub. They turned on the water and I climbed in. After the water was up to chest they poured in once of bottles. The water started to foam and turn green. The smell given off by the foam was making my eyes water. My skin began to prickle and then it began to sting. I sat there as my skin felt as if it was burning away. A beep sounded somewhere in the room. Vaen came over an poured a pink bottle into the water. The strong chemical smell of the water became even stronger and I felt my skin tingle. It never began to burn, I just sat there as the water tingled. Then, Bornia came over and grabbed a bottle and poured some of it in my hair and began to rub the mixture in. My head felt the same, it must have been a pretty normal form of shampoo.

After sitting there for a while Vaen drained the water and then told me to get on the table. I was shocked to look at my naked body and realize all of my body hair was gone. My skin looked pink. As I climbed on the table the stylists looked over my body. They took some tweezers and plucked any stray hairs left that weren't burned off in the chemical bath. They put a cream in my hair and then they gave me a robe. I sat waiting in the room and then Portia came in.

"Hello Peeta, we must seem terrible to you. You will be fighting to the death in a week and all I am supposed to care about is how you look." She looked at me with sorrow in her eyes.

"No, I can't be mad at you, I mean, you were raised in a different way. It would only make sense that your views on things would be different."

"Wow, normally the District 12 tributes just scream at us or sit there and cry. I could have moved up to a higher district by now, but I like 12. The annoying thing is that until Cinna came I was never able to get a good idea in when it came to the outfits. I tried to make them a little more dignified the last few years, but this year Cinna and I have an amazing idea. Peeta, how do you feel about fire?"

"You are setting me on fire?" I looked at her incredulously.

"Well not actually it is an artificial fire that won't hurt you. But Cinna and I hope that it will leave a lasting impression on the Capitol. But we don't have long so here is your outfit. She pulled a black garment bag off the wall and gave it to me. I unzipped it and saw a strange outfit inside. It looked like leather, black like coal. Then there was a cape and a small wooden box. Portia helped me into the outfit and then opened the small box. Inside of it was what looked like a crown of coal. The spires of the crown were inlaid with pearls that shone a bright white. She placed the crown on my head and grabbed some black boots that I hadn't seen before. After standing there looking at himself in a mirror in the room, Portia told me it was time to go. I walked down the hallway into a large room. All of the tributes were standing around looking awkward. I saw Katniss and walked over to her.

"So...fire huh?" She looked at me shuffling around.

"I trust them. I mean Portia seems like she wouldn't want to hurt us."

"Yeah, I guess. The Capitol would be pissed if we got injured." She stopped talking. I looekd around not knowing what to talk about. I decided to look around. I saw the small little girl from 11. She looked adorable and she was joking around with the large boy from her district. Then I saw the girl from 5 in an outfit that looked ridiculous. She was in a silver leotard with a silver disc around her head. She looked like an idiot. Then I saw _him_. Cato Hale, he was just standing there. His outfit looked complicated. It was a feathered armor outfit. It looked as if each of the metal feathers were applied to his skin by the way they moved as he breathed. As I looked up to his face I noticed he was staring at me. It felt as if those bright blue eyes were boring into my soul. He gave a slight smirk. I felt my face heat up and I tried to hide the fact I was blushing. I looked at his district partner, Clove I think it was, her outfit was far more simple. It matched Cato's but since she was a girl they had given her actual armor with the metal feathers attached to the chest piece. They were both wearing what looked to be pants made to look like chain mail. The outfit was rather amazing. Not long after looking at the rest of the tribute outfits we were ushered to out chariots. District 1 began the trip known as the Tribute Parade. I watched as all the others left. Right before we left, Cinna came up to us with a small torch. He placed it on our capes and I watched at the cape lit on fire. He also pressed it to my crown and to the tiara Katniss had received. We were on fire wearing a crown of fire. I was nervous about being burnt but all I felt was a tingling sensation on my skin. As we were pulled by our horses into the public eye it went silent. Then the screaming and chanting began. Everyone was chanting our names. They threw roses and other items at us. I grabbed Katniss' hand and thrust our intertwined hands into the air. The screams managed to get even louder. We were both smiling from ear to ear. Finally reaching the end of the parade the fire on our suits began to sputter out. I was so amazed by the outfit I completely ignored President Snow's speech. After he finished we were taken into the Training center basement. Cinna, Portia, and our design teams swarmed up to us and told us how great we looked. Effie walked up to us tears flowing telling us how beautiful we looked. After a while they all left and told us to get changed.

Katniss was quickly out of her outfit and into a comfortable yellow top and some billowing grey pants. I was having some issues with my zipper. It seemed like it was stuck. No one was near my changing room. I continued trying to get it unzipped but I eventually gave up and knew I would need help. I left my changing room and walked around. Most of the other changing rooms were empty. I heard movement behind one of the doors. I knocked and opened it and , of course, who else would it be but Cato. I tried to ignore the elephant in the room. Cato was naked. He was pulling off the final metal feathers on his chest. He was looking at me with a confused look on his face. I kept trying to talk but I was distracted. He was beautiful. His eyes that bored into my soul were looking at me. His chest muscles were bulging. He had small pink nipples that looked delicious. He had some bulging biceps that probably could do some serious damage. His abs were well defined and he had a good 8-pack going. Then I realized hewas completely hairless. I kept going down until I got to that level. He was huge, and he wasn't even hard. The fact that he was hairless made it look even bigger. He had large low hanging balls. Then I continued down and realized how beautiful his legs were. The muscles bulged. I realized how hard I was. I was brought back to reality as he addressed me.

"Hey Twelve, why the fuck are you here?" He asked angrily.

"Um...my uh...my zipper is stuck can you uh...help me." I asked nervously.

"Yeah, whatever I need some help from you too." He came up to me and fidgeted with the zipper. I could feel the breath on the back of my neck. I could smell him, he smelled like well... a man. It was an enticing smell that I wanted all over my body. I knew I had given up on trying to say I wasn't attracted to him. I mean, he was a god. Whenever one of his fingers would touch my neck electricity would shoot through my body. At one point he pressed close to my body and I felt his giant manhood press into my ass. I wished this damn suit was off, all I wanted was some more skin to skin contact with him. I could swear at one point he thrusted up against my body. I was probably just imagining it. He finally got the zipper undone and pulled the suit off my body. I had completely forgotten I wasn't wearing anything under my outfit. So here we both were, naked. And of course I was hard. I hated how wonderful yet awkward this sitiation was

"Hey 12, get the last couple feathers off of my back. Just try not to poke me with that dick of yours." I blushed as he acknowledged my hardness. He turned around and I realized I had forgotten about his ass. It was beautiful, round and muscular. The definition of bubble butt. I grabbed the last couple feathers off of his back and pulled them off. He turned around smiling. "Thanks 12, I'm Cato Hale."

"I'm Peeta Stiles Mellark. Nice meeting ya."

"Well thanks for everything, I'll uh see you tomorrow."

I left him to get changed and I went back to my room and finally got some clothes on. Once I was changed I opened the door surprised to see Cato outside of my door waiting there with a grin on his face.

"Hey, whaddya want?" I asked.

"I was gonna wait for you so that you don't have to go up alone." Cato explained with that goddamned sexy smirk of his. We went in the elevator and he pressed 2 and 12 and once we reached his floor he turned around smiled at me and walked out. It was strange how hostile he was when I first asked him to help me. But now he was being perfectly kind.

Damn, this was gonna be a long couple days.


	6. I Will Show You the Hidden Truth

Umm yeah sorry this took so long, there is awkward nudity with Peeta and Cato again. I worked on using more dialogue/just writing dialogue since I suck at it. Uh the song is Pandora by Kara. I'd like to do some shoutouts

Cray-CrayPerson came up with the idea of the wind in ch 4 which I totally forgot to give them credit for

Echohellfire is just my fave

LeadingPlayer32 (i think that's it) thanks for loving my story.

and to anyone who has/will read this thank you bunches. I decided to start writing as a hobby because I didn't have anything to do I figured no one would read this story so I am honored that you guys like it.

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Ch 6 : I Will Show You The Hidden Truth

I was really confused by the events that had just occurred. I mean, why was he so nice? Careers were supposed to be mean. They weren't to be trusted. Unless you were another Careers and even then they still had to kill each other at some point. It was rare that they turned on each other. Sometimes once there were a few tributes left a Career would poison the others or slit their throats in the night. I mean there only could be one victor so it had to happen eventually. I thought back to Raina and her betrayal of the Careers in the 41st Games. That seemed rather unusual. She was probably a little off in the head, too much time in the sun in 4. Thinking back to District 4 tributes none of them really seemed mad. Then I remembered Annie Cresta the tribute from the 65th Hunger Games. Her district partner got decapitated and this caused her to leave the Career pack and hide out. Then the entire arena was flooded when a dam broke due to a Gamemaker created earthquake. Being from District 4 she was the best swimmer and survived and was claimed victor. I wondered if she mentored or if she avoided the Games as much as possible. Probably the latter. What would Katniss do if she saw me die? Would she care, or would I just be one less opponent? I pushed the morbid thought out of mind. The elevator dinged and I was finally on my floor. Hearing voices I decided to head towards them. Katniss, Effie, Cinna, Haymitch, and Portia were all sitting at a table eating. I walked up the stairs to the platform that the table was on. Effie was the first to notice I had arrived.

"Oh hello Peeta, we were wondering where you were. You were supposed to be upstairs 16 minutes ago. Punctuality is important, even, if for a meal. I have the diner times planned so you have completely digested your meal by the time you fall asleep. You, Peeta, need to stay up an extra thirty minutes just to be sure." Effie smiled at me as she finished. She wiped her mouth and stood up. "Well I have enjoyed this wonderful first day with you all. Training begins at 10 A.M. I will wake you at 9 so you have time to eat and get ready. Katniss and Peeta, let me just say again how amazing you two looked today. I bet those outfits alone will get you some sponsors. And Haymitch, do try and stay sober enough to help these two, I like them. I hope one of you does come out." The table is far more quiet and awkward without Effie. Soon after her Portia and Cinna give their goodbyes until the interviews, which are in a few days. I grab some of the chicken drumsticks that are soaked in a lime green sauce. I also serve myself a bowl of what looks to be a soup broth with small little pasta pieces floating around. Quickly before I forget I turn to the Avox

"Could I please have two mugs of hot chocolate?" the Avox nods and walks away.

"What took you so long?" Katniss asks with concern in her voice. It's annoying that she thinks she has to protect me. Although, at the same time I am very flattered. At this point the Avox is back with my hot chocolate and I begin eating.

"I couldn't get the zipper on my back down, it was stuck." I laughed a little at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Well, then how did you get it off?" She asked trying to hold back her laughter.

"Umm...the uh...the boy from 2. Cato Hale, at least that's what I think it was..." Acting as if I didn't remember every word he spoke to me was rather easy.

"Peeta, you need to stay away from him he is dangerous. He will kill you without fluttering those blonde eyelashes of his. You are just another weak tribute for him to overlook. I mean, you aren't weak but he doesn't know that. Him underestimating us will be the biggest mistake he will make." She has a dangerous twinkle in her eye. Sometimes Katniss terrifies me. There is just this wild feeling about her. Obviously if she is crazy it is well contained under a shell of indifference.

"You really like the food here, don't you? Especially that hot chocolate stuff." She says laughing.

"Yeah, it really sucks that I will only be able to enjoy this food for couple days. I want to try some of the cakes before we go in. But you shouldn't be talking you have had that lamb and plum stew at least once every single day."

"Yeah, I tried to think about how you could make this in 12 but it would just be an extremely pathetic substitute." I laughed thinking what the District 12 version of this would be.

"Well, my cakes could never be as good as they are here. They have sugars and flavors that would probably be worth 15 loaves of bread."

"Peeta, shut up, you make awesome cakes. I had a cake when my dad died." Her face darkened. "It was just plain vanilla but the frosting was beautiful, and it was truly delicious."

"Thanks, I love working with frosting design, it's extremely interesting."

"You should ask if you could make some cakes here, I doubt they would really deny you. I mean, while some tributes are training you could make cakes. Well...nevermind that you could probably just make them after training." She must have found the idea of me baking cakes while the rest of the tributes were learning to kill funny. She was laughing so hard she snorted. Then I began to laugh and we just enjoyed laughing at the situation we were in for a while. After this we quickly finished our meals and went to our room. I decided that I should take a shower just so I wouldn't have to wake up any earlier than necessary. I climbed into the shower. Looking around, it was the exact same layout as the showers in the train. I enjoy the warm water cascading down my body. Rubbing my shoulders to relieve some of the stress I was feeling. I pressed a button that would make the water come out in jets that would massage my body. It felt amazing standing there as the jets pounded my naked body beating at the tense muscles all over my body. There was no reason I should be so tight but a lot had happened in the last few days. After a while, I set the water back to the shower setting and pressed the button that covered me in the chocolate-scented foam. After the foam was completely washed off I turned off the shower and got out. There wasn't a towel in the room, I did see a button that was on the wall. I pressed the button and was blasted with warm air from all directions for about 10 seconds and then I was dry. Amazing the Capitol was. Probably wasn't even that bad living here. As I walked back into the room I looked around for the closet. I saw a small door that I had disregarded earlier. I opened the door and realized it was a walk-in closet. There was pretty much every article of clothing you could ever want to wear in every color imaginable. I grabbed a forest green v-neck with a pair of black sweatpants. As I began to rip off the sheets to climb into bed I saw a white piece of paper. Scrawled on the page was a note:

_Hey Peeta, Meet me on the roof_

_P.S. Bring a swimsuit_

It took a while before I decided to go. Finding a swimsuit wasn't easy. We didn't swim in 12 so it took me a while to find what I assumed was a swimsuit. It was obnoxiously tight and didn't really leave much to the imagination. I decided against that one, eventually I settled on a pair of loose shorts that were comfortable and were a fabric that I had never seen or wore before. I grabbed some sandals from the shoe section of the closet. I kept my shirt so it seemed like I was just walking around. It took a while to find the elevator again. It was ridiculous that Effie called this an apartment. There were houses in 12 that were smaller than this. Once I reached the area where I was eating not that long ago I knew where I was. Waiting for the elevator was annoying. While I was waiting I came to the realization I had no idea who the note was from. The handwriting was rather neat and generic so I couldn't rule out anyone. Was it the female from 1, she had given me the up down a few times before the Parade. The elevator arrived with a ding. I pressed the button that said "R" and stood there silently as the elevator began it's climb to the roof. The elevator soon stopped, dinging again to remind me of my arrival. Hesitating, I slowly stepped onto the roof. It was beautiful, there were flowers and vines all over the lattices that were all over the roof. The smell was amazing, it was if the Capitol had bottled the essence of nature and put the scent on the roof. There were all sorts of bright flowers. One that caught my eye was actually glowing. I walked up to it and admired the color. It was a pale blue with darker specks towards the tips of the petals. The color reminded of the eyes of the boy from 2. Those eyes saw straight to my soul. I felt exposed around him, as if he knew my every secret. It was a strange feeling that I don't think I could ever be used to. I continued to walk through the garden. The smell was intoxicating. I wished I could stay up here forever. After walking through the garden a few times admiring the beauty I decided to call out to whoever was waiting for me.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Hey, turn around." the voice sounded familiar. When I turned around there he was. Cato Hale. He was grinning widely at me. His smile was so sexy, his bright white teeth shone. He walked over to me and gave me a big hug. "Well hello Peeta Stiles Mellark, I thought you'd never come. And that would just suck." He smiled again. Those piercing blue eyes of his looked straight into my soul. They were beautiful even in the fading light of sunset.

"Well, I didn't have anything better to do." He looked taken aback, I didn't mean to sound so rude. "Sorry, I meant I was bored and meeting a stranger on the roof seemed like the most interesting choice." A feeling of relief washed over me when he smiled again. He wasn't mad, never would I want to make him mad. It was at that moment I realized I wanted him and only him. I wanted to be his and for him to be mine. Not caring that I would be called a faggot, all I wanted was him. He probably didn't feel the same but he would have me for the remainder of my life. Even if he didn't know.

"Ahaha, it's totally fine. I was bored too. Brutus, my mentor, and Clove were being annoying and so I decided I wanted to do something. So I had an Avox take you that note. I decided we could go swimming. Technically, we aren't allowed to use the pool for non-training purposes. I really didn't care though. What are they gonna do, punish us? They already have..." His voice sounded sad.

"Ooh breaking rules, Cato you are _such_ a rebel." I laughed. "I'm pretty wide awake so we can hang as long as you want to." I saw his face light up when I said that.

"Awesome, I am a night owl so I am almost always up super late, nor do I really need that much sleep."

"Me neither! I mean, my family owned the bakery in 12 so I was always up late anyways. We opened at 5 A.M. before the miners go to work. We start the ovens and stuff and it-" I stopped. "Am I boring you, sorry, I tend to think people are as interested in baking as I am."

"Oh God no! I love hearing about people's lives. It's interesting. But let's go down to the pool first, you can finish telling me there." He walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. The elevator hadn't left, Cato and I climbed in the elevator and he pressed the button that said 'TC' and we stood there awkwardly waiting for the elevator to reach the bottom floor. Once we reached the bottom floor the door opened to complete darkness.

"C'mon little baker boy." He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the darkness. "Now Brutus said it was somewhere around here..." he mumbled to himself. "Ah!" I heard a click and then the lights came on. The Training Center looked awesome. There were obstacle courses and some targets. There was only one thing missing was weapons. They probably don't put them in the Center until the tributes are actually training. They probably expected tributes to sneak down here and scout it out. Who knows what a tribute with a weapon could do?

"Cato, where is the pool?" I asked, forgetting that was our original destination. He must have been doing the same thing.

"Oh yeah, just follow me." We walked towards one end of the Training Center. We eventually came up to a wall that had a sign that said male on the left and on the right female. We headed into the male side of the area. I realized it was a changing room. This was pretty much a spa. As I looked around I spotted a mud bath, a communal shower, and a sauna. "Peeta, I have to change and then we can go." He said seeming extremely excited. I sat there assuming he wasn't going to change directly in front of me. He had already taken off his shirt once we got into the changing room but I didn't expect him to get naked in front of me. Well...again. He slipped off his boxers and his shorts in one move. And there it was, Little Cato, well, it wasn't actually that little. It was huge. It was probably 2 inches bigger than mine was soft. He was cut with a pink head. The skin on his shaft was the same color as his skin. It was a beautiful sight. I wonder if he went for the hairless look before he was here. The ability to pull off being hairless isn't very common but he wore the look well.

"Hey Peeta, take a picture it will last longer." He laughed loudly. A deep sound that echoed through the large changing area.

"Sorry..I umm..." I decided I should just not talk. He slipped on his swimsuit, the bulge from his manhood still obvious.

"It's fine, it's the biggest you have ever seen, isn't it?" He asked. He continued to talk once I had nodded yes. "Yeah, I mean, it's pretty big. I don't wanna toot my own horn. But I saw yours earlier, you aren't doing bad either. The fact that you don't have any body hair makes it look even bigger." This was a strange conversation but it was with him so I didn't care.

"Um, thanks you are the first person to ever see it. So I didn't know where I stood." Grabbing my hand again he lead me to the pool. The feeling of his hand against mine was amazing. The roughness of his skin was nice. Once I finally saw the pool I was amazed. It was huge. The deeper end of the pool was 15 feet deep and the shallowest part of the pool was 4 feet deep. I was excited to swim, but then realized I didn't know how to swim.

"Cato, I don't know how to swim. We don't really have lakes in District 12." I was embarrassed.

"We don't have them in 2. We did have pools like this in the academies. District 2 had a few mountains, but not many lakes. I remember at the academy we got to visit the PTIC, that was so awesome. Oh damn, I'm not supposed to talk to people about that but...whatever." He laughed, that sound was truly beautiful.

"What's the PTAIC?"

"Oh, duh, you wouldn't know. It is the Peacekeeped Training and Intelligence Center. It is inside of this hollowed out mountain. It is super stuffy in there, you wouldn't even understand. They only have these vents that go to the surface. It's not like there is an oxygen shortage or anything, it's just warm in there. But back to swimming, I had to teach the new academy students last year, so I can totally train you."

We walked down towards the shallow end and slid into the pool. The water had a slight chemical smell that I had never smelled. My face must of looked nervous because Cato spoke up.

"Peeta, calm down, it's just chlorine. It's a chemical they use to keep the pool clean." My apprehension faded as he assured the water wasn't going to burn my skin off. "Okay, so are you ready for this?" I nodded. First he taught me how to float on my back which was pretty easy. All I had to do was make sure I breathed regularly so that my lungs were full of air. IWhen I let out too much air I began to sink. Over time I learned to quickly breathe out and then take in the air that would keep me afloat.

"Way to go Peeta, you are a natural." He pulled me into a tight embrace. The heat of his naked chest against mine was wonderful. Something that felt like electricity coursed through my body. The worst thing was that he probably felt nothing. I could feel his large biceps squeezing my body. It felt as if I fit there. As if his embrace was made just for me. He loosened his grip and I looked up at him. Those blue eyes showed an emotion I couldn't place. After a few seconds a mischievous smirk came to his face. Grabbing my arm he threw me a little deeper into the pool. I could still touch the bottom.

"Hey Peeta, wanna try something?" He looked at me with that elfish-looking smirk of his. "Let's skinny dip."

"W-wh-what?" I had difficulty understanding what he had said.

"Skinny dipping, swimming naked, you know. No one is going to be down here, and nothing will really be that visible since we are mostly underwater. C'mon Peeta it'll be fun." Then he started doing puppy dog eyes. I was just standing there. "Well, I guess this can be a one sided thing." Cato walked towards the edge of the pool and bent down. Ten seconds later there was a wet suit on the side of the pool. And in front of me, there was a _very_ naked Cato. I found another detail of his body that I hadn't noticed before. The V-lines of his abs were amazing. They ended at the surface of the water. Beneath the pool water his penis was barely visible. He began to swim towards me. Once he reached my location his hands went towards my crotch. They stopped a few inches above my member. He began to untie my swim trunks. Once the knot was undone he pulled my suit down and left me exposed in the water. As he was bringing his hands back up to the surface his hands grazed my sensitive length. The feeling was extremely, well I dunno how to describe it. Imagine every pleasant feeling and put that into a one second touch.

"Oh sorry Peeta, I didn't mean to do that, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"How could you accidentally pull down my pants?"

"Noo, I met accidentally touching your junk." Cato blushed.

"Oh, well whatever it's fine." I laughed. "Hey Cato, could you teach me how to swim like that?" I wondered if he would be willing.

"Of course, it's super easy." After about 30 minutes I was swimming rather well. I did a full lap of the pool. He also taught me how to tread water. We went to the other end to the large diving platforms I hadn't noticed before. He climbed up and I climbed up right below him. Boy did I get an eyeful. With every step we took up the ladder his penis would swing between his legs. His balls dangled a few feet from my face. Leg muscles flexing with every step up the ladder. It was a beautiful sight. Once we reached the top we were probably 20 feet above the water. He ran for the edge and dived straight off. He did a beautiful dive. Knowing I wouldn't be able to do anything as grand I just did a pencil dive. The feeling of falling was scary but it was fun. Once I reached the surface of the water after diving in Cato gave me another hug. His large member rubbed against my leg. I could feel the beginning of stubble around his pubic area.

"Peeta, that was so fun! We definitely have to do this again." He gave me another quick hug. We walked back to the changing rooms. The communal shower could be awkward but I would be fine. We both washed our bodies of the chlorine. I watched as he rubbed the suds all over his naked body. The way the water cascaded down his naked body and over his muscles was really turning me on. Knowing I couldn't let him see me getting turned on I started thinking about things to cool me off. The thing that worked the best was Haymitch. I knew I was supposed to respect Haymitch but he was disgusting. My growing erection went down and I continued to wash myself down. It sucked that these showers were less fancy than the personal showers. There was just a button that shot soap at you and another that squirted shampoo at you.

"These showers suck, I can't use my foam."

"Huh?" I turned towards the voice of Cato.

"You know how the personal showers have the scented foams that are really nice. I always use the clove scented foam because I like the smell. Clove uses the mint foam. I went into her room to talk and all you can smell is mint."

"Oh yeah, I use the chocolate foam, it reminds me of the hot chocolate and I love it."

We finished showering in silence. We quickly got dressed and headed back through the Training Center. We got in the elevator and Cato pressed 2 and 12 again. He seemed especially uncomfortable. Once we reached his floor he stood in the elevator for a while. He opened his mouth as to say something but then stopped. Then the unexpected happen. He kissed me, not a peck on the cheek but he kissed me. His lips crashed against mine and I felt as if I was on fire. I was too shocked by the situation to kiss back. I didn't want the moment to ever end. It felt so right. The kiss stopped, Cato pulled away with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Peeta." He sobbed a little before he quickly got out of the elevator. I was left standing there in shock as I rode up to my floor. I looked around for an Avox and quickly found one. I asked for a pen and paper. I wrote a note and headed down to the District 2 floor. The door opened and the layout of the apartment was the exact same. After searching for a moment I found the two rooms for tributes. I opened one and was hit with the strong scent of peppermint. That must've been Clove's room. Knowing the other room was Cato's I walked in. The blonde boy wasn't in his bed. I assumed he was in the shower since I could hear water running. I set down the note on his bed and quickly went back to my floor. Would the kiss change the friendship between Cato and I?

**CATO POV**

Damn him. Damn that stupid boy from District 12. Why didn't he like me. I was Cato fucking Hale. Women and men wanted my attention. Normally I would not be interested. The one time I like someone they aren't into me? It wasn't fair. From the second I had seen the District 12 reaping I knew he was the one. I needed him in my life. He was my everything. I would do everything I could to protect him in the Arena. There was a note on my bed. I opened it up an in neat handwriting were the words that would seal my fate with the boy.

_Don't be sorry_

_-P_

My heart swelled up in happiness as I read this. Then I came to the realization that I would need to get him into the Careers with us. I soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Yay? Nay? Um It's my birthday tomorrow so I probably won't have time to write but I'll try and get something up by next sunday


	7. Authors note

hey y'all. Sorry about the update being super slow. School just started and I have been working alot. I am not quitting the story but I can only write on days when I don't have work since I need to be able to do homework. I just started chapter 7. and I'm sorry about the long wait but I am about 3 and a half pages in so only another 2 or 3 to go. So sorry about the long wait, if any of you still care ahah. But I hope for 7 to be up by this friday.


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